Recent Developments in Accessibility to Movie Theaters

For the past 4 years, the subject of accessibility to movie theaters, primarily wheelchair access and captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing, has been the basis of much litigation in the federal courts. For wheelchair-bound patrons, the increasing number of theaters employing stadium-style seating spurred them to the courthouse while for the hearing impaired, it was the development of new technologies that gave impetus to their efforts. Although the plaintiffs have not always been successful, these lawsuits, as well as new Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities issued under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), are forcing theater owners to make changes to existing theaters and plan new theaters in different ways. (<i>See</i> related article, Proposed Revisions to the ADA's Physical Accessibility Guidelines Released, Sept. 2004 <i>CLLS</i>.)

13 minute read October 06, 2004 at 01:37 PM

By

Suzanne Ilene Schiller